Improvement in cannon for throwing chain-shot



A. LEMMER.

Muzzle-Loading Ordnance.

Patented Nov. 13, 185].

tion.

UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrcn,

ADAM LEDIMER, OF NEVARK, NE\V JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN CANNON FOR THRQWING CHAIN-SHOT.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No, 8,525, dajcd November 18, 1851,

To all whom, it may concern.- Be it known that I, ADAM-LEMMER, of New ark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Gun by which the gun may be made to revolve on its carriage, and in certain positionsthrow the chain-shot either in a horizontal line or in a vertical line; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a horizontal section of the gun. showing the divergency of the bores. Fig. 2 isa side elevation of the gun and carriage. Fig. 3 is a section, showing the movable or revolving head at the breech. Fig. 4is a longitudinal vertical section of the carriage, taken through the center,the gun not being in see- Fig. 5 is a back view in elevation. Similar letters of reference indicate corre 'sponding parts in each of the several figures.

The nature of myinvention consists in constructing a gun with two or more bores, said bores diverging from the breech or vent toward the muzzle. The shot are connected by a chain of suitable weight and size, and a shot is placed in each bore. Then the gun is discharged, the shot, owing to the divergency of the bores, expand or separate from each other, spreading out the chain, and thereby doing great execution.

My inv-entionfurther consists in causing the gun to rotate on. its carriage by means of a.

pose of preventing the breeching from winding, round the gun when it is made to revolve,

and, lastly, in elevating or depressing the muzzle of the gun by means of a vertical slide, to which is attached a rack operated upon by a pinion.

its under surface, forming a rack.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation. v

A, Fig. 1, is a horizontal section of a gun, showing two bores, B B. The divergency of the bores in this view will be seen and the whole principle readily understood. a a are passages which afford a communication from each bore to the vent b, the charge in each borebeingfiredsimultaneously. Itwillbeseen by referring to Fig. 1 that if the shot were proj ected from the gun,they would have a tendency to expand or separate from one another, as the lines of direction of each bore'diverge. In consequence of this, as the shot expand or separate, the chain which connects them is spread or stretched out, thus making a formidable and destructive missile. I11 the side elevation, Fig. 2, the gun is seen mounted upon the carriage.

I will now explain the manner in which the gun is turned upon the carriage and the object for turning it.

C is the projection or flange, (seen more particularly in Fig. 4 on the gun, principally on the under side,) and teeth or cogs are cut on This rack meshes into a worm-wheel, D, hung on the shaft E, said shaft running transversely through the body of the carriage.

1 F is a semicircular frame, to which are at tached the trunnions G G, said trunnions working in suitable bearings on the carriage. A strap, H, semicircular in form, is attached by joints to the upper part of the semicircular frame F. This semicircular strap is divided at the top, and has a thumb-screw, a, passing through flanges, by which it may be tightened or relaxed. The frame F and strap H form a circle, which encompasses the gun and sets in a recess, (1, (see Fig. 1,) which is formed in it.

It will be seen by referring to Fig. 4 that the frame F and strap H clasp the gun nearer the muzzle than the breech, and the breech of the gun would naturally descend. The breech, however, is supported by the slide L, which runs in suitable grooves in the carriage near the breech, and will be presently described.

The manner in which the gun is supported on the carriage being shown, it will be seen that the shaft E upon being turned by means of the pulley J, and the worm-wheel D meshing into the rack G, the gun is made to revolve. The shaft E is raised or lowered, so that the worm-wheel D may be in or out of gear, as desired. Then the gun is turned round to the desired point, the worm-wheel is detached by lowering the shaft. The shaftis raised or lowered by means of the levers K K, the bearings of the shaft being in these levers, and the shaft raised or depressed Vertically, said shaft working in the slots 6 0, cut through the sides of the carriage. The fnlcra of the levers are the pins f f, which work in slots, and thus allow the levers a sufficient play. It must be bornein mind that when it is designed to turn the gun, the strap H must be relaxed by adjusting the thumb screw 0, and when turned round to the desired position the strap is tightened and the gun firmly'secured. The worm-wheel D is disconnected from the rack as soon as the gun is properly adjusted, and again put in gear by raising the shaft when the gun is to be turned. I

The object in turning the gun .is this: In some cases the chain-shot would do more execution by being projected in ahorizontal line. In other cases it would be preferable to have the chain-shot projected in a vertical line in the rigging of ships. For instance, where the ropes, braces, and stays run in all directions, it will be seen that in some cases more execution would be done by the balls and chain flying horizontally, and in other cases verticallythat is, one ball being directly over the other.

In Fig. 1 the gun is placed for throwing the chain-shot horizontally, the boxes B 13 being on a horizontal line. Now, if itis desired to throw the shot vertically, the gun must be turned so that one bore is directly over the other in a vertical line. This is mentioned so that the terms horizontal and vertical may not be confounded with the line of projection.

L is the slide, (see Figs. 4 and 5,) by which theinuzzle of the gun is elevated or depressed. Said slide works in suitable grooves in the side of the carriage, and has a vertical rack,

- M, attached at about the center.

N is a pinion hung on the shaft 0, which meshes into the rack M, and by which the slide is raised or depressed by turning the pulley P. (See Fig. 5.) A ratchet-wheel, R, is attached to one end of the shaft, in which the pawl 19 catches, and thus prevents the slide from descending. The upper part of the slide in'which the gun rests is cut semicircularly, so as to conform to the shape of the gun, and may have, as well as the frame F, friction-rollers upon it, to diminish the friction caused by the turning of the gun. I

S is the revolving head attached to the breech of the gun, and to which the breeching is attached. This head is attached to the gun in the following manner: A bolt or rod, 8, projects from the breech horizontally, as seen in the different figures, and passes through the center of the head. A screw, it, is out upon the end of the bolt or rod 8, and a nut, 10, screwed upon it, said nut fitting in a recessin thehead. By this arrangement the breeching (which is the technical term forth e ropes which are attached to the gun and side of the ship to prevent the gun from recoiling too great a distance) is prevented from winding round the gun when it is turned.

It must be understood that I do not confine myself to any particular species of guns, but claim the improvement in all cases where it may be advantageously used.

Having thus described the nature and opertion ofv my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In combination with the revolving head S and the bores B B, diverging as described, the rack 0, attached to the gun, and the wormwheel D, hung on the shaft E, by which the gun is made to revolve or turn to the desired position, so that the chain-shot may be thrown either in a horizontal or vertical line.

ADAM LEMMER.

\Vitnesses: Q

0. D. MUNN, A. K. HAIGHT. 

